PHOTO:Xiomáro-National Parks in New England
Fruitlands was a Utopian agrarian commune established in Harvard, Massachusetts by Amos Bronson Alcott and Charles Lane in the 1840s, based on Transcendentalist principles. Residents of Fruitlands ate no animal substances, drank only water, and “no artificial light would prolong dark hours or cost them the brightness of morning”. Additionally, property was held communally, and no animal labor was used. The community was short-lived and lasted only seven months. It was dependent on farming, which turned out to be too difficult. The original farmhouse, along with other historic buildings from the area, is now a part of Fruitlands Museum.
By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Xiomáro Archive
Having turned 100 years old, the National Park Service inaugurates its 2nd Century with a group exhibition at Harvard’s Fruitlands Museum titled “Find Your Park: National Parks in New England”, which includes several large-scale photographs Xiomáro. The artist break in photography in 2010 when he was selected as an artist-in-residence at the homestead of the Impressionist painter Julian Alden Weir, now the Weir Farm National Historic Site in Wilton at Connecticut. He graduated from New York University School of Law, and became an arts-and-entertainment lawyer and manager representing creative talents. After he recovered from a serious health issue he turned to photography. He focused on Landscape Photography that has a long tradition in U.S.A., the artist has completed several commissions for the National Park Service including: the New England National Scenic Trail in Massachusetts, Theodore Roosevelt’s Sagamore Hill mansion in Oyster Bay, the High Dune Wilderness on Fire Island, the Brookline home and office of Frederick Law Olmsted, considered to be the father of American landscape architecture. The images, on public display for the first time, are hung from the ceiling so that visitors can “walk through” the parks to explore their cultural, historical and natural wonders. “Longfellow Entry Hall” and “Weir Studio” are from the homes and workplaces of J. Alden Weir and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, whose homes and workplaces he photographed. Also Xiomáro shows the range of historical and scenic diversity that can be encountered in Boston Harbor in Massachusetts. “Civil War hospital on Georges Island” depicts a dramatically forlorn Civil War hospital on the prison grounds of Fort Warren on Georges Island, its most famous captive being Alexander H. Stephens, the Confederate Vice President. “Chairs and chapel at Peddocks Island” is an inviting seaside view lined with colorful Adirondack chairs against the backdrop of a newly restored World War II army chapel on Peddocks Island. “Lovell’s Island” was a fishing and trading site for Native Americans. Today, the island is popular for camping, picnicing, light hiking and those who wish to explore the ruins of the Fort Standish (1902-46), which was constructed and remained active during World Wars I and II. “Entrance at Peddocks Island where cannons were fired” was shot at Peddocks Island, originally a summer fishing spot favored by the Native Americans, would later become pasture land for European settlers. Today the dilapidated structures of Fort Andrews, a World War II POW camp, can be visited. Finanlly “Wild flowers at Spectacle Island” are photos from Spectacle Island show off the flowers that grow plentifully there, which is significant when one considers that the island was once a garbage dump for the city of Boston (1857-1990).
Info: Curator: Rebecca Migdal, Fruitlands Museum, 102 Prospect Hill Rd, Harvard, Massachusetts, Duration: 2/9/16-19/3/17, Days & Hours: Sat-Sun 12:00-17:00, www.fruitlands.org
